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Victor von Doom (Earth-616)
Real Name: Victor Von Doom Aliases: The Master, Invincible Man, Vincent Vaughn, Hans; has also inhabited the bodies of Daredevil, Norman McArthur, and Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four Status Occupation: Monarch of Latveria, would-be conqueror Legal Status: King of Latveria; Full diplomatic immunity in the United States Identity: Public Marital Status: Single Affiliations: Formerly Knights of the Atomic Table, Acts of Vengeance prime movers, partner of Namor, employer of the Terrible Trio Leader of Fantastic Four for one issue Base of Operations: Doomstadt, Latveria Origin Origin of character unknown. Place of Birth: Gypsy camp outside of Haasenstadt, Latveria Known Relatives Werner von Doom (father, deceased), Cynthia von Doom (mother, deceased); Kang, his counterparts, and offspring (alleged descendants), Kristoff (Ward, adopted son), Doctor Doom (Bob Doom) (distant cousin), Boris (unofficially adoptive father/guardian), Victor von Doom II (son/clone, deceased), Valeria von Doom (daughter from alternate universe; became baby of Susan Richards and is now called Valeria Richards) First Appearance: Fantastic Four #5 History Doom's parents died when he was very young. His mother, Cynthia, was killed due to a bargain with Mephisto gone wrong. After a noblewoman died despite his attempts to care for her, Werner and a young Victor fled on a cold winter night. Although Doom survived, his father did not. Doom sought to increase his knowledge of both science and magic in order to avenge his parents. Empire State University offered him a scholarship offer, and there he encountered Reed Richards and Ben Grimm. Doom became obsessed with developing a machine that could project the astral form of a being into other dimensions, seeing it as a way to free his mother from Mephisto's clutches. Reed pointed out a flaw in Doom's calculations, but Doom ignored him. He felt Reed was trying to upstage him. The machine exploded, scarring Doom's face. He was soon expelled for conducting unethical experiments. Disgraced and bitter, Doom traveled the world. Eventually he came upon a small village of monks who assisted him in creating a suit of armor. He returned to his homeland of Latveria to overthrow the leader and declare himself king. He then began to use his country's resources in order to further his plans of world domination. These schemes have led Doom into conflict with the Fantastic Four on many occasions, as well as other superheroes. One such instance was his victory over the Silver Surfer. In this battle, Doom stole the Surfer's powers and surfboard. Doom became one of the most powerful beings on Earth. He defeated the Fantastic Four but was tricked into flying into the barrier set up around the Earth by Galactus. The Surfer got back his powers and his surfboard. Another coup came on Battleworld during the first Secret Wars. Doom became leader of the evil side in the war. After their defeat, while in a holding cell, he constructed a device to drain the power of Galactus. With that power he attacked the Beyonder, the cosmic being who arranged the Secret Wars. Doom lost that battle, but he managed to drain the Beyonder and became even more powerful. Too powerful, in fact--Doom was temporarily unable to manage his new abilities effectively, and the Beyonder once again defeated him. Doom eventually freed his mother's soul with the assistance of Doctor Strange. Strange had won the Aged Genghis's contest and was obligated to answer the request of the runner-up. The scheme to free his mother required Doom to incur her undying hatred, a price he was willing to pay. Doom always seeks to manipulate events to his own ends. During a recent crisis in a neighboring country, not only did Doom provide weapons for the government, but he also offered asylum for the refugees. In his youth Doom fell in love with a woman named Valeria, but she resisted his advances. As part of a bargain with the Hazareth Three, Doom had her sacrificed to gain him power. He later asked Invisible Woman to name her daughter Valeria after assisting her during the birth. He even left a teddy bear for the child. However, this act of kindness was just another plot to use the young girl as a conduit. Doom was defeated by the Fantastic Four and Doctor Strange after being tricked into angering the Hazareth Three with a boast. He was soon removed from their realm and banished to a 'Moebius dimension' by Mister Fantastic. When the deceased Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, fell to Earth, it passed through time and space, momentarily breaching the gateway to Hell itself and providing Doom with an escape route. (Apparently a continuity error--Doom was not in Hell when last seen.) Upon his return to Earth, Doom regained control of Latveria, used its military to locate Mjolnir, and attempted to seize its power for himself. During the Civil War, Reed Richards and several other heroes defeated a Doombot in New York City--Doom himself may or may not have been responsible. In another ploy, Doom proposed an alliance between Latveria and the Black Panther's country of Wakanda. Doom in the House of M Doom was one of the few Sapiens that was highly regarded for his scientific and magical expertise. He and his Fearsome Four conducted many missions. However, his plot against Magneto failed. Humiliated, he still attended a party held on Genosha that led to the eventual restoration of reality. Characteristics Height: 6'2" Weight: 225 lbs Eyes: Brown Hair: Brown Unusual Features: facial scars Strength Level While wearing his armor, Doctor Doom can lift (press) approximately 2 tons. Known Powers Gypsy Magic: Doctor Doom has some potential in using the Roma (i.e. Gypsies, not the character Roma) magic of his mother. He learned these abilities from his time with a secret order of monks in Tibet. Doctor Strange considers him magically proficient but only a mid-level mage. He knows enough to fire blasts from his hands, create forcefields, invoke mystical entities (principalities) for additional support, ensnare foes in bands of energy (the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak), and create portals to other planes of existence, such as Mephisto's hellish realm or the Dreamtime of the Australian Aborigines. However, he considers his scientific abilities to be more important and has devices that do many of the same things. *''Mystical Blasts'' *''Mystical Forcefields'' *''Invoke Entities'' *''Mystical Ensnaring'' *''Mystical Portals'' *'Mind Transference': By training with an alien race, Doom has gained the ability to switch his mind with that of another nearby human being with whom he's made eye contact, a process which he learned from the alien Ovoids. However, Doom prefers his own body and only uses this transference power as a last resort. Abilities Scientific Genius: Doctor Doom's most dangerous weapon is his genius-level intellect. He is easily one of the top mortal minds on the planet, exceeded only by Reed Richards. Doom has constructed hundreds of devices, including a working time machine (the first of its kind on Earth), devices which can imbue people with superpowers, and many types of robots. His most frequently used robots are his "Doombots," exact mechanical replicas of the real Doctor Doom. They look like him, talk like him, and even act like him. Individually, Doombots have an advanced AI (artificial intelligence) so that each one believes itself to be the real Doom. As a safety measure, each Doombot has a dampener program that is triggered whenever the real Doom (or another Doombot) is nearby. These "body doubles" appear when Doom cannot be present or is unwilling to risk his own life. And a writer can always explain away Doom's last mistake, defeat, or even death by revealing that the victim was just another Doombot. Another type of robot is the Servo-Guard, the police force of Latveria. Doom specializes in physics, robotics, cybernetics, genetics, weapons technology, biochemistry, and time travel. He also has natural talents for leadership, strategy, politics, and manipulation. Diplomatic Immunity: As the leader of a sovereign nation, Doctor Doom often visits the United States or the United Nations for political reasons. He enjoys diplomatic immunity during these trips, and his embassy is considered foreign soil. He has even been escorted by Captain America himself. Weapons & Equipment Mystical Armor: In his most recent confrontation with the Fantastic Four, Doom used mystic armor obtained through a bargain with the Hazareth Three. The exact specifications of this armor are unknown. Titanium Armor: Dr. Doom's original armor is a nuclear-powered, computer-assisted battle suit. It was magically forged at a monastery in Tibet, but since then has been repaired by normal (technological) means. *''Durability: The armor is fashioned of a high-strength titanium alloy. *Video Communicator: Built into the right wrist is a video communicator, which he can use to stay in contact with his bases from any point on Earth. *Electric Shock: The outer surface of the armor can generate a massive electric shock on command. *Jetpacks: The typical suit of armor has twin jetpacks mounted at the waist, though other suits (or modifications of the original suit) contain a single jetpack mounted on the back. *Concussive Blasts: Concussive bolts of force can be fired from the gauntlets and faceplate of the armor, though the mask only generates force blasts when it is not being worn. *Forcefield: The suit's best defense is the forcefield generated by the armor, which has a maximum radius of eight feet (and so can encompass others); Doom cannot attack without lowering his forcefield. *Infrared Vision: Infrared scanners in the helmet allow the wearer to detect heat sources, permitting night vision and the ability to see invisible persons (unless they do not give off or can somehow mask their heat signature). *Recycling System: The armor is self-supporting, equipped with internal stores and recycling systems for air, food, water, and energy, allowing the wearer to survive lengthy periods of exposure underwater or in outer space. *Sensor Systems: Optical scanners in the helmet allow the helmet's eyepieces to be used as high-powered telescopes, and parabolic ear amplifiers fitted inside the helmet allow Doom to detect extremely faint sounds and unusual frequencies within the audible range for humans. *Solar Energy Absorption: A thermo-energizer allows the armor to absorb and store solar and heat energy, and use it to power the armor's other systems; this system can only be used while the forcefield is deactivated. Technological Achievements Appearances in other media Television Dr. Doom has also appeared in several cartoons, including ''The Fantastic Four (1967-1970), The New Fantastic Four (1978-1979), Spider-Man (1981-1982) and Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981-1983). In The Fantastic Four (1994-1996), he was voiced by Neil Ross in season one, retelling his classic origin and his theft of the Silver Surfer's power, and by Simon Templeman in season two, as he struck at a powerless FF, had his hand crushed by the Thing, directed the Hulk to attack the team and once again acquired the Power Cosmic. By the series finale, when he got the Silver Surfer's power one final time, Mr. Fantastic tricked him into going out of Earth and his powers were given back to the Surfer, thus letting him get back to Earth and escape. Templeman reprised his role for guest appearances in two episodes of The Incredible Hulk (1996-1997), in which Doom held Washington DC captive, only to be defeated by She-Hulk, whom he later attempted to claim revenge upon. Tom Kane took over the character for a three-part guest spot in the final season of Spider-Man (1994-1998), re-imagining Doom's role in the Secret Wars. In the last three-part episode of Spider-Man, Doom turned part of the alien world he was on into New Latveria (he stole this part from Doctor Octopus, in which he named it Octavia). However, he did not use his ruling powers for evil and had the aliens who lived in his country live in peace and harmony He even kidnapped the Thing only to cure him of his deformity, turning him back to Ben Grimm. Doom then asked how they got to this alien world, since they were transported from Earth. Ben explained that he got the information from Spider-Man that a mystic god-like figure called the Beyonder had transported him, along with the Lizard, Dr. Octopus, Alistair Smythe and the Red Skull. Doom then stole the powers from the Beyonder and almost killed the superheroes that Ben fought aside with. But the Thing knocked Doom out and the powers of the Beyonder was returned to the mystic figure himself. Doom was then returned to Earth with no memory of these events, along with every other superhero, except for Spider-Man, as he would be leading different Spider-Men from different realities to save reality and defeat the evil Spider-Carnage, in which they did by the series finale. Doctor Doom appeared in #4 of The Avengers: United They Stand, where he attempted to execute The Avengers and Black Knight. Doom is set to appear in the new Fantastic Four animated series, voiced by Paul Dobson. Film In the new film version of the Fantastic Four which came out in July 2005, Doom is a billionaire industrialist and old college rival of Reed Richards. In addition to funding Richards' trip to space, he also accompanies the future Fantastic Four on the ship. In this newer film, Doctor Doom is played by Julian McMahon (Charmed, Nip/Tuck), and, similar to Ultimate Doom, receives superpowers in the same accident that creates the Fantastic Four. Here, he is endowed with two abilities by the cosmic rays — exposure to the rays imbues him with electrokinesis, and an injury caused by a piece of irradiated shrapnel from the shields intended to protect the station steadily begins to mutate his body into an organic-metallic compound. Doom accelerates the process to completion by exposing himself to a duplicated version of the cosmic rays. However, this process deforms his face, so Doom angrily dons his familiar mask to hide his face (which is portrayed as a mask given to him by the people of Latveria as shown on a plaque on display in his office/boardroom). In the end of the movie, Doom was apparently killed, and his body was transported back to Latveria; there's a hint that he's not quite dead, though. Similar to reactions to Ultimate Doom, some viewers have also panned the film Doom's origins and powers due to their vast divergence from the comic-book source material. Others believed that the script, combined with McMahon's performance, did not befit a villain such as Doom. While some fans liked Doom's mask and costume (which, unlike the comic book version, did not expose his primary limbs and had a second layer on underneath), many others criticized McMahon's physical and vocal performance (eg. his actions when blasting people with electricity were underexagerated), suggesting that a fully-masked villain requires a matching voice talent, such as James Earl Jones's fearsome Darth Vader voice in Star Wars. Several comic-industry publications have lampooned the film's portrayal of Doctor Doom, and in a recent 2005 issue Toyfare magazine claimed that "Doom (i.e. the original comic book character) should sue for defamation of character". Director Tim Story has confirmed that Doom will be in the sequel, though in response to criticisms stated, "He will be back in full DOOM, not like we had him in the first film."http://www.latinoreview.com/news.php?id=236 As Doom is sent back to Latveria in the closing of the film, this raises hopes that he will become the ruler of this country instead of just a corrupt businessman. Doom also appeared in a film based on the Fantastic Four, which was produced by Roger Corman in 1994, though never publicly released. In it, Doom (portrayed by Joseph Culp) was a college classmate of Reed Richards, who was nearly killed in an accident and brought back to life by loyal henchmen as a cyborg. Video games Doctor Doom has appeared in several video games. He was the final boss in the 1989 computer game Spider-Man and Captain America in Doctor Doom's Revenge and in Sega's 1991 Spider-Man arcade game. Later, he was featured as a boss character in the Capcom fighting game, Marvel Super-Heroes, who only became playable after the game was beaten once and a code was entered. He returned as a selectable character in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. He is particularly notorious for the so-called Strider/Doom trap in the latter game. He also appeared in Marvel Superheroes: War of the Gems for Super NES. Most recently, he appeared in the game based upon the 2005 Fantastic 4 movie, and was an exclusive character for the PSP version of Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects. Doom is the main antagonist in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and head of a new organisation called "Masters of Evil". He unites the most important and dangerous villains in order to defeat all super heroes once and for all. Notes * Character created by: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. * In Latveria, Doom has his own holiday - Doom's Day, which is an enormous celebration. * One of Doctor Doom's traits that makes him stand out is his tendency to refer to himself in the third person * Because of his status as ruler of Latveria, Doom has diplomatic immunity. This is perhaps his greatest asset, as any attempt to kill him would be a breach of international law - It has been used to prevent his death at the hands of the Fantastic 4, and has resulted in Captain America acting as Doom's escort/bodyguard whilst he was making a diplomatic visit to America. * In one retcon by Marvel Comics, the scar that Doom originally received from the explosion of his arcane device was, while large, not horribly disfiguring. In his eagerness to assume his masked persona he donned the faceplate of his first suit of armor while the metal was still smoking from the forge. The burns he suffered from this act are thought to have made him truly hideous. * The original story of his scar was that the explosion of his demonic portal actually did cause a hideous disfiguring scar, and, to suit his own hubris, donned the infamous mask. Trivia * After the Secret Wars, the Beyonder appeared in the Fantastic Four title, where he explained that he had pulled Doom from a different time. He then rectified the situation by reordering Doom's appearances to fit the timestream. See Also * Character Gallery Doctor Doom * Fan-Art Gallery: * Doctor Doom (Victor von Doom)/Technology * Appearances of * Quotations by External Links and References * The Latverian Embassy: Curt's Doctor Doom Shrine * Frequently Asked Questions About Doctor Doom * A short biography about Dr. Doom * Dr. Doom Official Fanlisting * DoomScribe's Den of Madness Fanpage * Other Dr. Doom Fanpage * Yahoo! Groups Dr. Doom forum * Doomgate * Fanlisting for Julian McMahon´s portrayal of Dr. Doom in the movie "Fantastic Four" * Brief Profile at Spiderfan.org ---- Category:Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Bad Characters Category:Single Characters Category:Latverian Category:Brown Eyes Category:Brown Hair Category:Public Identity Category:Silver Age Category:Magicians Category:Scientist Characters Category:Copy Edit